Culture
Easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soil in full sun. Tolerates light shade. Tolerates drought once established. Intolerant of poorly-drained wet soils.
Noteworthy Characteristics
Berberis is a large genus consisting of over 400 species of evergreen and deciduous spiny shrubs with stem-clasping leaves.
Berberis × stenophylla, commonly known as rosemary barberry, is a mounding, spiny-stemmed, suckering, hybrid broadleaf evergreen shrub (B. darwinii × B. empetrifolia) that typically matures to 8-10’ tall and to 15’ wide. Revolute-margined, spiny-tipped, narrow-elliptic leaves (to 3/4” long) are dark green above and blue-green beneath. Mature stems are dark reddish brown. Deep yellow flowers in nodding axillary clusters (7-14 per cluster) bloom in late spring. Although this shrub is a hybrid, it will set fruits (spherical, frosted, blue-black berries) which ripen in fall. Seed-grown plants will not come true from seed, but will typically revert back to one of the parents. On the other hand, seeds have led to the development of a number of showy cultivars featuring flowers with red, orange and yellow color.
Genus name comes from the Latinized form of the Arabian name for the fruit.
Hybrid name comes from the Latin word stenophyllus meaning having narrow leaves.
Common name is in reference to the narrow plant leaves which resemble the leaves of rosemary.
‘Corallina Compacta’ is a dwarf cultivar that grows to only 12” tall and as wide, and features yellowish leaves, coral buds that open to pale orange flowers and coral fruit. It is typically grown as a shrubby evergreen groundcover.
Problems
No serious insect or disease problems. Powdery mildew may occur.
Uses
Compact low hedge. Border fronts. Rock gardens. Foundations or other small areas in the landscape. Forms an interesting shrubby ground cover. Bonsai.